Making Bed Frames
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The Sum of its Parts
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Bed frames, like people, come in all shapes and sizes. In some places, the versatile futon is all that's needed for a good night's sleep but most of us prefer a frame with a mattress. This is a tradition dating back to drafty, cold, medieval Europe. The framed bed was imported by the first settlers to the New World and, although we've been finding new ways to "dress" them ever since, the basic traditional bed frame still consists of end-boards, rails and, occasionally, testers and finials. Testers, the rails above the frame that hold a canopy or draperies, are today a decorative rather than the functional element it was as recently as the beginning of the last century. Although most bed frames are made of wood today, metal bed frames are still popular. New convertible forms that use futons have mostly replaced the inexpensive "convertible" sofas on which so many have sacrificed a night's comfort to company. No matter what size they come in, bed frames are generally all made the same way; we just have a wider choice of types because the world has grown smaller with trade.
A Short History
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The simplest form of bed frame is the platform frame, based on Eastern style and its practical futon. One or more boxes stacked upon each other, often with a rim to control movement by the mattress, is all there is to this frame: it's built with plywood (or more expensive woods) and lacquered in dark colors. Historic examples of platform beds can be found from Ancient Egypt and Rome, where carved and gilded slabs of expensive woods were stacked on top of each other---the top one scooped out to conform to the reclining body. Ropes, string between frame rails and covered by featherbeds made beds more comfortable and the first springs were supported, as are today's "innerspring" mattresses by "bed boards" laid on ledges on the rails.
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Joinery
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As less tropical climates were settled in Europe, posts were added at the corners of beds and heavy draperies were hung on rails called "tester" suspended between them to keep cold drafts at bay. Although modern beds are still made with testers, rabeted at the corners and pegged into the post with a finial, this feature is mainly found on decorative "canopy beds". Rails were traditionally attached to head and footboards using mortise and tenon joints. The mortise was dug into the end or corner post on the head and foot boards and tenons were fashioned on the ends of each rail. A hole was drilled and a peg inserted through the mortised end-board through the tenon and covered with a medallion, practice that survives as a decorative element today. Modern metal locking brackets that are attached to the rails and either slipped into receptacles that are either inserted into the post or attached on its exterior have simplified frame-building. Metal frames use rigid ball joint-like joinery where the rail end slides into a "socket".
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Resources
- Photo Credit Wikimedia Commons, Rockler Woodworking and Hardware
